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Managing Pre-orders
on Katana

Katana

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Katana is a mostly ecommerce focused ERP that integrates with Shopify to synchronize product data, orders, and inventory. It supports negative inventory (for pre-orders/overselling), partial fulfillment, and allows custom workflows leveraging Shopify tags/metafields through its open API and integrations.

This guide will break down how Katana handles key pre-order functions like negative stock, Shopify’s “On Hold” status, and fulfilment workflows—so you’ll know what to expect, where it excels, and any workarounds you may need.

How ERPs and pre-orders work together in the modern ecommerce stack

As the central source of truth for your ecommerce operations, ERPs play a crucial role in pre-orders—primarily in two areas:

Product & inventory management (tracking stock, syncing availability).
Order processing (handling pre-order statuses and fulfilment flows).

Below is a typical flow. Click through to see how Shopify, the ERP and pre-order application interact.

1

Order & Inventory Sync

The ERP synchronizes orders and inventory across various sales channels (e.g., Shopify, Amazon, retail POS).

Key Considerations for Managing Pre-orders on Katana

In the diagram above you may have noticed the word “should” being used a couple of times… That’s because not all ERPs fully support Shopify’s pre-order features out of the box. Some may lack support for negative inventory counts or fail to respect Shopify’s “On Hold” order status, requiring workarounds or additional configuration. Read on to see how Katana interacts with Shopify pre-orders and what you might need to adjust.

Syncing Shopify Products

Katana offers a native integration with Shopify to synchronize product data—including titles, SKUs, and inventory levels—ensuring consistency across your e-commerce and manufacturing processes.
• Real-Time Sync: Keep product info aligned in both Shopify and Katana.
• Automatic Updates: Inventory levels adjust when sales occur or production completes.

Syncing Shopify Orders

Katana integrates with Shopify to capture order data—statuses, customer info, line items—so your sales and manufacturing remain in sync. This centralizes your operational view, streamlining order fulfillment and production planning.

Handling Negative Inventory

Yes, Katana can allow negative inventory to handle pre-orders or overselling scenarios.
• System Behavior: You can record sales or production even with insufficient stock.
• Caution: Negative inventory requires careful tracking to avoid discrepancies in stock and accounting.

Respecting Shopify’s “On Hold” Status

Katana’s documentation doesn’t detail special handling for Shopify’s “on hold” status. The focus is on syncing sales, inventory, and fulfillment updates. For pre-orders you may have to implement a workaround based on line-item properties or tagged orders in Shopify.

Pre-Order-Specific Features

Yes, Katana offers features that help manage pre-orders effectively.
• Sales Order Management: Centralized oversight of orders from all channels.
• Inventory Management: Real-time visibility into raw materials and finished goods, ensuring you can plan for incoming pre-orders.
• Production Planning: Allocate resources and schedule production to meet pre-order demands.
• Order Management: Create sales orders for pre-ordered items and plan for production/procurement.

Custom Workflows with Order Tags, Line-item Properties or Metafields

Katana supports custom workflows using Shopify’s tags, line-item properties, and metafields—achieved via Katana’s open API and integrations. This allows you to automate or customize processes like special labeling, advanced production instructions, or unique shipping requirements.

Resources:

• Building a flow based on line-item properties

Supporting Full vs. Partial Order Fulfilment

Yes, Katana supports full and partial fulfillment of orders:
• Partial Delivery: Ship available items immediately, leaving remaining items until they’re back in stock or produced.
• Partial Completion of MOs: Mark portions of a manufacturing order as finished, allowing those items to move into inventory or ship, while the rest remains in production.

Summary

Katana support for
Shopify Pre-orders

Pre-order touchpoint	Katana support
Products sync with Shopify	✅ Syncs product titles, SKUs, and inventory levels with Shopify
Orders sync with Shopify	✅ Imports Shopify order data (statuses, line items, customer info) to Katana
Negative inventory support	✅ Allows negative stock for pre-orders or overselling
Shopify “On Hold” status recognition	⚠️ No direct “on hold” sync; use a line-item properties based workflow
Specific pre-order support	✅ custom workflows available that are aware of negative inventory and line-item properties
Custom workflows	✅ Leverages Shopify tags/metafields through Katana’s API for automation
Partial fulfilment support	✅ Ships partial orders, with partial MO completions for production

Strengths & Limitations

✅ Strengths
• Native Shopify integration with real-time data sync
• Built-in negative inventory and partial fulfillment
• Strong ecommerce focused CRM

⚠️ Limitations
• Doesn’t natively manage Shopify “on hold” status
• Advanced workflows may need API expertise or third-party connectors

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